


Essential

by MBlair



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Gen, Multi, quarantine fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2020-05-17
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:21:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24240472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MBlair/pseuds/MBlair
Summary: When a mysterious illness takes hold in the First Order following the Battle of Crait, the Supreme Leader, his General, and a scavenger find themselves quarantined together. Will they make it through?
Relationships: Armitage Hux & Kylo Ren, Armitage Hux & Rey & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Armitage Hux/Rey
Comments: 9
Kudos: 15
Collections: Reylux Spring Fling





	Essential

**Author's Note:**

> Hello readers! It’s been a long time since I’ve posted anything, but I hope someone likes it. This is the fic I’ve started for the Reylux Spring Fling with a quarantine focus, so I hope you all like it!

“No.  _ No. _ Absolutely not,” Hux said as he looked to the head medic, shaking his head as if the very idea of being stuck in quarantine with the Supreme Leader and his scavenger didn’t exist. It would end in tears and more likely bloodshed. “I will not do it.” 

“General,” the head medic replied, giving Hux a look that reminded him far too much of his father when he was being especially disappointing. “I would not order it if it weren’t medically necessary. All those who have been exposed have been ordered into quarantine as well, but as there aren’t enough rooms in the medbay, the three of you are being allowed to shelter in the comfort of familiar spaces. I would hate to have to move someone because their commanding officer, their  _ General _ is being stubborn.” 

_ Well, when you put it THAT way…  _

“Fine,” he reluctantly agreed, nodding and making to stand. It was difficult when everything in him felt sluggish and off, the side effects of the virus that had been running rampant through the ship since it had been nearly destroyed by the Resistance, but he managed. “I will gather my belongings and...report.” 

* * * 

When he entered the clearance code to gain admission to the Supreme Leader’s quarters only a few minutes later, he stood nervously, wishing to be turned away but knowing it would not be so. His luck had never been that good. 

“Good evening, General,” the voice of the scavenger girl said from the door, watching him anxiously. To Hux, she seemed far more slight than a woman from Jakku would seem at first glance, thin as a rake and rather small for a woman. Though he knew, from his own experience there, that looks were often deceiving. Even without the Force, she was stronger than she looked and she was almost beautiful, even for a Jedi scavenger. 

“Good evening..,” he replied, trailing off when he realized he didn’t know her name. 

“Rey.” 

“Good evening, Rey,” he repeated, conceding to that small bit of politeness as they stared at each other. They stood, each diametrically opposed to each other in nearly all ways. One, a loyal, steadfast General of the First Order, programmed from childhood to see the chaos of the galaxy controlled under singular rule, order, and control. The other, a child of the desert, wild and free, whose friends sought to undermine everything Hux had spent his entire life trying to achieve. Though...she was still here, standing proud and strong around enemies, and even Hux couldn’t deny the bravery in that. It was an attractive quality in a woman. 

It was Kylo who brought Hux out of his musings with a cough and a strange look, almost as if he was challenging Hux to say anything about her presence. His presence, Hux noticed, had eased quite significantly since the girl...since  _ Rey _ arrived and chose to stay. 

“Supreme Leader,” Hux said, bowing his head in respect, the most he was willing to offer Kylo. 

“General,” Kylo replied, both men giving each other a look that spoke of years of history and confrontations. There was a sense of distrust there, mostly from Hux -- which Kylo knew was well deserved -- as well as something else that Rey didn’t quite understand as she watched them watch each other. Rey moved aside and gently managed to get Kylo to move as well, giving Hux the room he needed to enter. 

The rooms were far more expansive than Hux expected, a large sitting room with sleek black furniture, covered now in softer fabrics and blankets that spoke of a woman’s touch, as well as some of the comforts that Hux knew Rey likely hadn’t experienced before arriving here. He didn’t know much about her, but no one from Jakku could survive without having to give up all comforts for the sake of economy. He knew there would likely be an equally large bedroom as well as a fresher somewhere in the expanse. It made his own quarters, which were larger than he really needed, seem tiny in comparison. 

“We’ve set up a small room in what was the office,” Rey said once the silence became too much to bear, holding her shawl closer around her as she shivered. Though she wasn’t nearly as sick as she had been when the virus began to take hold in the ship, it was obvious that it was still affecting her. “A rather comfortable cot and enough storage for all your personal items.” 

Hux nodded, holding onto his shoulder bag that was filled with the barest essentials, all he had ever packed when he left his quarters for more than a simple shift on the bridge. He opened his mouth to say something to Rey, trying to find some words other than a simple greeting that wouldn’t be cruel or condescending. After struggling to find any, he simply nodded again, hoping that they both would interpret the message as he intended. 

* * * 

It didn’t take nearly as long as Hux expected for the three of them to fall into a sort of routine. Rey spent much of the mornings meditating while Hux and Kylo worked diligently. It surprised Hux how hard Kylo seemed to work in these early days, especially since it was clear he had been quite ill as well. 

“May I ask what you’re so interested in, General,” Kylo asked when he noticed Hux watching him for the third time in the short time since they both began their work. While Kylo may not have the knowledge that came with years of being in control, Snoke had not allowed him much leeway in learning more than he needed to, he thought he was making good progress on learning about the First Order’s inner workings. The power struggles. The ways of war that didn’t involve the end of a lightsaber. 

At first, Hux didn’t reply, simply watching Kylo as if he was trying to sense Kylo’s mood. It wouldn’t do for him to somehow irritate him enough to earn a “punishment” from the man, random and humiliating as they were. He still felt his throat close under Kylo’s hand in nightmares from the  _ last _ time it happened. Seeing something calmer in the man’s eyes and bearing, Hux shrugged a bit before replying, without his usual snark, “I’ve simply never seen you read anything so intensely before. It’s almost as if the datapad personally betrayed or disobeyed you, the glare you were sending it.” 

Kylo scoffed and rolled his eyes at that. Though it was without the usual snark in his voice, it still held the subtle contempt that always came when Hux spoke to him. “I am simply trying to decipher these reports. They are more...technical than I am used to,” he said, trying to phrase it in a way that didn’t make him sound like an idiot. 

It was several minutes before Hux spoke again, the General giving Kylo an intense look before turning back to his datapad, typing quickly before finally pausing and relaxing back into his seat on the black couch, which he would never admit to anyone was more comfortable than anything he had ever had in his own quarters. Soon the beep of a new message came over onto Kylo’s datapad, a list of common acronyms and common technical terms that would be in a report. 

_ Don’t think that this means I like you.  _

Kylo smiled for a brief moment, a sight that Hux never thought he’d see. “I wouldn’t dream of it, General.” 


End file.
